NBA News: Lakers win 124-111 against Warriors after Beasley scores 25 points

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors by 124-111 points on Thursday after rising guard Malik Beasley scored 25 points for the Lakers.

The victory comes on the heels of the Lakers’ All-Star break. During Sunday’s All-Star games, the Lakers’ star forward, Lebron James, lost to the Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team by 175-184.

James owes his recent lackluster performance to a hand injury sustained during Sunday’s games. In Thursday’s game, James scored 13 points, eight assists and nine rebounds — his lowest scoring since November 2021. It is also the sixth time in his career that he’s had less than 25 percent accuracy in more than 20 shooting attempts.

Even though the All-Star is still struggling with his hand injury, his teammates were able to assist him and forward Anthony Davis in scoring the Lakers’ victory.

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2023-02-24 06:24

“Our team is stacked, so when guys aren’t playing their best it allows other guys to step up.” @Dloading shakes off the twisted ankle and likes what the #lakers have to offer. https://t.co/p1by0NovKv

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Beasley especially took up the reins, leading the game with 25 points. This marks the second 20-point game Beasley’s had in his past four starts with the Lakers.

However, Beasley was not the only player to step up to the court this game. Five other bench Lakers scored in the double digits, with shooting guard Austin Reaves leading their ranks. Reaves threw a six for six in the game, scoring 17 points for the Lakers.

“LeBron and AD didn’t get going as much as they wanted tonight, but we’re deep, and I think that’s the statement we want to make. It can be any player on any given night,” Beasley said.

All-Stars play backseat

Alongside James, eight-time All-Star Anthony Davis also saw a relatively quiet performance in Thursday’s game.

Davis scored 12 points and 12 rebounds, making him one of the eight players to score double digits. However, it’s a far cry from his career-high 59 scored points in a game.

Despite his and James’ performances, Davis praised the team’s effort and ability to pull through without being carried by their All-Stars.

“We’re still figuring things out on the fly. The past two games we’ve really looked good as a whole. I think we’ve got a complete team where we’re able to make a run,” Davis said.

The Lakers’ head coach, Darvin Ham, agreed with Davis’s assessment, acknowledging the team’s combined effort in the final score.

“Everybody contributed, everybody had different moments and guys stayed aggressive. I feel great about what we’ve been able to do. It’s paying dividends right now and we’ve just got to continue to get more and more familiar with one another,” Ham said.

Game highlights

The Warriors are experiencing a rough patch, mounting up to a 9-12 loss this season. Similarly to the Lakers, the Warriors have also lost their All-Star after point guard Stephen Curry sustained a leg injury in their game against the Dallas Mavericks three weeks ago.

Shooting guard Klay Thompson led the field with 22 points for the Warriors, while point guard Ty Jerome followed with 20 points.

The game ran with a promising 59-58 third-quarter lead for the Warriors thanks to Thompson’s early scores. However, the Lakers quickly outpaced the defending NBA champion team in a 21-7 run in the next quarter.

“We were fouling, had some disjointed offensive possessions, some turnovers and some difficult shots that were basically shot/turnovers,” Golden State’s coach Steve Kerr said.

“There were several key stretches where we had a chance to get back in the game but couldn’t put it together.”

The Warriors would later attempt to counter the Lakers’ run by scoring eight points in the fourth half. However, the latter took over again with a 26-6 sprint.

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